Client-server-type security system, such as a security system for use with computer network consumer transactions

ABSTRACT

A system to provide secure information to a customer or user begins by storing user-defined data associated with a particular user (such as a confidential text string, or image/audio file). The system may then create and provide to the user a communication for the particular user that includes retrieving the user-defined data, and wherein the communication includes the user-defined data in a human perceptible manner and in an unencrypted or unscrambled manner.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 60/528,925, filed Dec. 11, 2003 (attorney docket number53005.8013US).

BACKGROUND

Commerce is increasingly being conducted over large computer networks,such as the Internet. A problem with such electronic commerce is thatimportant, confidential information is sometimes transmitted overinsecure channels or using insecure means. Recently, criminals havetaken to sending emails to victims, where the emails look as though theycame from a legitimate company, such as the victim's bank, with thehopes of tricking the recipient to divulge confidential information(i.e., user id, password, account information, social security number,etc.) such a technique has been referred to as “phishing” or “spoofing.”At times, the emails from such criminals will link the recipient to aweb site that looks similar to the true company's web site, but insteadbe a forgery, or will direct the recipient to the actual company website, but intercept recipient input information, such as via apop-up-screen or other means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a suitable computer for employing aspectsof the invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating a suitable system in whichaspects of the invention may operate in a networked computerenvironment.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an alternative system to that ofFIG. 2A.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a suitable environment in which aspectsof the invention may be employed, and which shows data flows in thatsystem.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a suitable method performed underthis system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an example of a customer record having a custom identifierassociated with the customer.

FIG. 6 is a suitable computer display or web page for providing securityinformation under the system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 7A is a computer screen shot of an example of a bogus phish email.

FIG. 7B is a computer screen shot of an example of a legitimate email.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will now be described with respect to various embodiments.The following description provides specific details for a thoroughunderstanding of, and enabling description for, these embodiments of theinvention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that theinvention may be practiced without these details. In other instances,well-known structures and functions have not been shown or described indetail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the description of theembodiments of the invention.

The terminology used in the description presented below is intended tobe interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it isbeing used in conjunction with a detailed description of certainspecific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even beemphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted inany restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as suchin this Detailed Description section.

Under one embodiment of the invention, customers or consumers may enteror select a customized phrase, image or other information that amerchant or business includes with every communication to that customer,such as in an email, over the telephone, etc. The message, image, etc.could be changed at any time by the customer, and provides the customerwith a level of comfort that communications he or she receives from thebusiness are legitimate, rather than from a criminal fraudulentlyattempting to obtain information from that customer.

In a broad sense, an aspect of the invention includes a system toprovide secure communications to a customer or user, which begins bystoring user-defined data associated with a particular user (such as aconfidential text string, or image/audio file). The system may thencreate and provide to the user a communication for the particular user,in a variety of different media, that includes retrieving theuser-defined data, and wherein the communication includes theuser-defined data in a human perceptible manner and in an unencrypted orunscrambled manner.

FIG. 1 and the following discussion provide a brief, general descriptionof a suitable computing environment in which aspects of the inventioncan be implemented. Thereafter, details on embodiments of the inventionare provided. Although not required, aspects and embodiments of theinvention will be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as routines executed by ageneral-purpose computer, e.g., a server or personal computer. Thoseskilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the invention can bepracticed with other computer system configurations, including Internetappliances, hand-held devices, wearable computers, cellular or mobilephones, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, set-top boxes, network PCs, mini-computers,mainframe computers and the like. The invention can be embodied in aspecial purpose computer or data processor that is specificallyprogrammed, configured or constructed to perform one or more of thecomputer-executable instructions explained in detail below. Indeed, theterm “computer”, as used generally herein, refers to any of the abovedevices, as well as any data processor.

The invention can also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments, where tasks or modules are performed by remote processingdevices, which are linked through a communications network, such as aLocal Area Network (“LAN”), Wide Area Network (“WAN”) or the Internet.In a distributed computing environment, program modules or sub-routinesmay be located in both local and remote memory storage devices. Aspectsof the invention described below may be stored or distributed oncomputer-readable media, including magnetic and optically readable andremovable computer discs, stored as firmware in chips (e.g., EEPROMchips), as well as distributed electronically over the Internet or overother networks (including wireless networks). Those skilled in therelevant art will recognize that portions of the invention may reside ona server computer, while corresponding portions reside on a clientcomputer. Data structures and transmission of data particular to aspectsof the invention are also encompassed within the scope of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of the invention employs a computer100, such as a personal computer or workstation, having one or moreprocessors 101 coupled to one or more user input devices 102 and datastorage devices 104. The computer is also coupled to at least one outputdevice such as a display device 106 and one or more optional additionaloutput devices 108 (e.g., printer, plotter, speakers, tactile orolfactory output devices, etc.). The computer may be coupled to externalcomputers, such as via an optional network connection 110, a wirelesstransceiver 112, or both.

The input devices 102 may include a keyboard and/or a pointing devicesuch as a mouse. Other input devices are possible such as a microphone,joystick, pen, game pad, scanner, digital camera, video camera, and thelike. The data storage devices 104 may include any type ofcomputer-readable media that can store data accessible by the computer100, such as magnetic hard and floppy disk drives, optical disk drives,magnetic cassettes, tape drives, flash memory cards, digital video disks(DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, smart cards, etc. Indeed, anymedium for storing or transmitting computer-readable instructions anddata may be employed, including a connection port to a network such as alocal area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) or the Internet (notshown in FIG. 1).

Aspects of the invention may be practiced in a variety of othercomputing environments. For example, referring to FIG. 2A, a distributedcomputing environment with a web interface includes one or more usercomputers 202 in a system 200 are shown, each of which includes abrowser program module 204 that permits the computer to access andexchange data with the Internet 206, including web sites within theWorld Wide Web portion of the Internet. The user computers may includeone or more central processing units or other logic-processingcircuitry, memory, input devices (e.g., keyboards and pointing devices),output devices (e.g., display devices and printers), and storage devices(e.g., magnetic, fixed and floppy disk drives, and optical disk drives),such as described above with respect to FIG. 1. User computers mayinclude other program modules such as an operating system, one or moreapplication programs (e.g., word processing or spread sheetapplications), and the like. The user computers 102 include wirelesscomputers, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDA's),palm-top computers, etc., which communicate with the Internet via awireless link. The computers may be general-purpose devices that can beprogrammed to run various types of applications, or they may besingle-purpose devices optimized or limited to a particular function orclass of functions.

At least one server computer 208, coupled to the Internet or World WideWeb (“Web”) 206, performs much or all of the functions for receiving,routing and storing of electronic messages, such as web pages, audiosignals and electronic images. While the Internet is shown, a privatenetwork, such as an Intranet may likewise be used herein. The networkmay have a client-server architecture, in which a computer is dedicatedto serving other client computers, or it may have other architecturessuch as a peer-to-peer, in which one or more computers servesimultaneously as servers and clients. A database 210 or databasescoupled to the server computer(s), stores much of the web pages andcontent exchanged between the user computers. The server computer(s),including the database(s), may employ security measures to inhibitmalicious attacks on the system, and to preserve integrity of themessages and data stored therein (e.g., firewall systems, secure socketlayers (SSL), password protection schemes, encryption, and the like).

The server computer 208 may include a server engine 212, a web pagemanagement component 214, a content management component 216 and adatabase management component 218. The server engine performs basicprocessing and operating system level tasks. The web page managementcomponent handles creation and display or routing of web pages. Usersmay access the server computer by means of a URL associated therewith.The content management component handles most of the functions in theembodiments described herein. The database management component includesstorage and retrieval tasks with respect to the database, queries to thedatabase, and storage of data such as financial information.

Referring to FIG. 2B, an alternative embodiment to the system 200 isshown as a system 250. The system 250 is substantially similar to thesystem 200, but includes more than one web server computer (shown asserver computers 1, 2, . . . J). A web load balancing system 252balances load on the several web server computers. Load balancing is atechnique well-known in the art for distributing the processing loadbetween two or more computers, to thereby more efficiently processinstructions and route data. Such a load balancer can distribute messagetraffic, particularly during peak traffic times.

A distributed file system 254 couples the web servers to severaldatabases (shown as databases 1, 2 . . . K). A distributed file systemis a type of file system in which the file system itself manages andtransparently locates pieces of information (e.g., content pages) fromremote files or databases and distributed files across the network, suchas a LAN. The distributed file system also manages read and writefunctions to the databases.

One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the concepts of theinvention can be used in various environments other than location basedor the Internet. In general, a display description may be in HTML, XMLor WAP format, email format or any other format suitable for displayinginformation (including character/code-based formats, algorithm-basedformats (e.g., vector generated), and bitmapped formats). Also, variouscommunication channels, such as local area networks, wide area networks,or point-to-point dial-up connections, may be used instead of theInternet. The system may be conducted within a single computerenvironment, rather than a client/server environment. Also, the usercomputers may comprise any combination of hardware or software thatinteracts with the server computer, such as television-based systems andvarious other consumer products through which commercial ornoncommercial transactions can be conducted. The various aspects of theinvention described herein can be implemented in or for any e-mailenvironment.

Referring to FIG. 3, a suitable system 300 is shown where a customer oruser provides certain custom identifiers, which may be one or morephrases, text strings, images, files (including video/audio/animationfiles), code or other configurable information (“custom identifier”),which may be included in communications from a given company.Communications from the company may come via multiple delivery channels,such as a telecommunications call center 302, an Internet channel 304,paper mail 306, or electronic mail 308 (all of which computers orcomputing platforms can employ systems as described above). The customeridentifiers are stored in a custom identifier database 310, typicallyassociated with a record associated with each customer (describedbelow). The customer may identify a single custom identifier to beincluded with each communication, or separate custom identifiers to beassociated with different channels (e.g., an image associated with theInternet channel, an audio clip associated with the call center, and aphrase associated with customer mailing systems, SMS (or othertext-based services), etc.). The call center 302 may include interactivevoice response (IVR) or other computer/telephony equipment that may beautomated to provide the customer's custom identifier by phone afternavigating touchtone menus (e.g., with the help of text-to-speechfunctions).

The customer can update the customer identifier via normal customerservice interaction, such as visiting a branch or store, interactingwith customer service representatives via known means (telephone orInternet), or other back office or contact center methods. The customidentifier would be accessible to anyone in the company that would needto update information or otherwise provide or create outboundcommunications to the customer. Likewise, the custom identifier isavailable to any automated system within the company that automaticallyor semi-automatically generates outbound communications to the customer.

Referring to FIG. 4, a suitable process 400 performed by the company forproviding a communication to the customer begins when the companycreates and prepares an outgoing communication, such as an email message(block 402). The company's system then checks for a custom identifierassociated with a given customer, such as querying the custom identifierdatabase 310 (block 404). If a custom identifier is available (block406), then it is included within the message, such as embedded withinthe email message (block 408). The email message is then sent out to thecustomer (block 410). If, for example, the communication is via a callcenter, then a pop-up screen may be provided to the call center agent,who can then orally provide the customer identifier information to thecustomer over the phone. (If the custom identifier is an image, then thecall center agent may simply describe what the image shows to thecustomer over the phone.) Alternatively, the system could replay astored audio file, associated with the customer, to the customer overthe phone link.

If a custom identifier is not available (block 406), then the system mayattach or include a message about adding a custom identifier to thecustomer to prompt the customer to provide such information for futurecommunications. Such a message can be by email, or simply be a callcenter script to be provided by a call center agent.

Note that the custom identifier does not provide access to information,but instead provides a customer with a reasonable level of assurancethat the communication that he or she receives was originated by thecompany, and thus is authentic. The customer must know that anycommunication originated by the company will be able to provide suchcustom identifier in, on or during the communication. The customer needsimply verify that the communication provided to him or her included theappropriate custom identifier, to thereby not fall prey to massemailing/calling/mailing scams posing as the company, since such boguscommunications would lack the custom identifier.

Referring to FIG. 5, an example of a customer record 500 stored in thecustom identifier database 310 as shown. As shown in FIG. 5, thecustomer record includes standard fields 502 for name, social securitynumber, date of birth, customer number, user id and password. It alsoincludes contact information fields 504 such as email addresses, andvarious phone numbers. Importantly, the customer record also includes atleast one custom identifier field 506. While in this example the customidentifier is shown as a text string “Doe Ray Me,” any other informationmay be stored within the record, as described herein.

While the term “field” and “record” are used herein, any type of datastructure can be employed. For example, relevant data can have precedingheaders, or other overhead data preceding (or following) the relevantdata. Alternatively, relevant data can avoid the use of any overheaddata, such as headers, and simply be recognized by a certain byte orseries of bytes within a serial data stream. Data structures may conformto conventions of object oriented programming, other types ofprogramming techniques, or both. Any number of data structures and typescan be employed herein.

Referring to FIG. 6, an example of a display description, web page, orcomputer display is shown for allowing the customer to create a user id,password, and custom identifier. The screen may also be used to allowthe customer to change any of this information. Of course, any othertype of user interface that may be employed to allow the user to enter,update, or edit such information.

In general, a “display description” may be in HTML, XML or, WAP format,email format or any other format suitable for displaying information(including character/code-based formats, algorithm-based formats (e.g.,vector generated), and bitmapped or other image formats). Also, variouscommunication channels may be used, such as a local area network, widearea network, or a point-to-point dial-up connection instead of theInternet.

Under alternative embodiments, the custom identifier can expireperiodically, which requires the customer to update or change the customidentifier. Of course, standard identification procedures may beprovided to the customer to request such a change or update.

The custom identifier can be linked to a time dependent coding systemthat allows the user to verify when a message was sent, as well as whosent the message. Thus, employing the example of FIG. 5, an emailmessage provided to the customer could include “Doe Ray Me 120103,”where the “Doe Ray Me” corresponds to the user's custom identifier, andthe “120103” corresponds to a date of Dec. 1, 2003.

As noted above, the custom identifier can be different depending uponthe particular delivery or communication channels. For example, thecustom identifier “Doe Ray Me” could be established for text messages,“Doe-A-Deer” could be used for voice mail messages, and a picture of adeer could be used for HTML based email and Internet channelcommunications.

FIG. 7A is an example of a fraudulent phish email. While not visibleonline (because it is white text on a white background), the emailincludes some gibberish text 702 that helps this email evade spamfilters. Another indication that the email is fraudulent is a bogussecurity key 704. Further, while not shown, source for this HTML encodedemail shows that links or URLs point to websites not affiliated with thepurported bank, Washington Mutual.

FIG. 7B shows an example of a legitimate email that correctly includesthe customer's custom identifier 706. As shown, the custom identifier isembedded in the text of the email, which thwarts criminals fromattempting to access emails and automatically crawl or scan through themto harvest or extract custom identifiers. As an additional safeguard,the image custom identifier may be placed anywhere within the email. Inthe example of FIG. 7B, an image 708 is shown in the lower left corner.The custom identifier text phrase “Doe Ray Me” are printed over theimage 708 so that the image may not be automatically identified in theemail, where the text within that image may be the relevant customidentifier. By embedding the text within an image, automated gatheringof custom identifiers can be thwarted because many illegitimate programsfor gathering such text strings will not be able to readily access atext string embedded within an image.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense, as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” As used herein, the terms “connected,”“coupled,” or any variant thereof, means any connection or coupling,either direct or indirect, between two or more elements; the coupling ofconnection between the elements can be physical, logical, or acombination thereof. Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below,”and words of similar import, when used in this application, shall referto this application as a whole and not to any particular portions ofthis application. Where the context permits, words in the above DetailedDescription using the singular or plural number may also include theplural or singular number respectively. The word “or” in reference to alist of two or more items, that word covers all of the followinginterpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of theitems in the list, and any combination of the items in the list.

The above detailed description of embodiments of the invention is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for, theinvention are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whileprocesses or blocks are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each ofthese processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of differentways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as beingperformed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performedin parallel, or may be performed at different times

All of the above patents and applications and other references,including any that may be listed in accompanying filing papers, areincorporated herein by reference. Aspects of the invention can bemodified, if necessary, to employ the systems, functions, and conceptsof the various references described above to provide yet furtherembodiments of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description details certainembodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated,no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can bepracticed in many ways. Details of the security system and method mayvary considerably in its implementation details, while still beencompassed by the invention disclosed herein. As noted above,particular terminology used when describing certain features or aspectsof the invention should not be taken to imply that the terminology isbeing re-defined herein to be restricted to any specificcharacteristics, features or aspects of the invention with which thatterminology is associated. In general, the terms used in the followingclaims should not be construed to limit the invention to the specificembodiments disclosed in the specification, unless the above DetailedDescription section explicitly defines such terms. Accordingly, theactual scope of the invention encompasses not only the disclosedembodiments, but also all equivalent ways of practicing or implementingthe invention under the claims.

While certain aspects of the invention are presented below in certainclaim forms, the inventors contemplate the various aspects of theinvention in any number of claim forms. For example, while only oneaspect of the invention is recited as embodied in a computer-readablemedium, other aspects may likewise be embodied in a computer-readablemedium. Accordingly, the inventors reserve the right to add additionalclaims after filing the application to pursue such additional claimforms for other aspects of the invention.

1. A client-server security system for use by a financial institution toprovide information to multiple client computers associated withcustomers of the financial institution, the system comprising: adatabase storing customer data records, wherein at least some of thecustomer data records include customer-defined data associated withrespective customers, wherein the customer-defined data includes atleast one text phrase, one electronic image, or one audio file; a servercomputer coupled to the database and configured to provide electronicemail messages to customers and to access the customer-defined data inthe customer data records; a telecommunications server computer coupledto the database and configured to access the customer-defined data inthe customer data records; multiple call center computers coupled to thetelecommunications server computer and configured to display thecustomer data records; wherein the server computer is configured tocreate email messages initiated by the financial institution and for theclient computers, wherein the email messages include information for thecustomers and include the respective customer-defined data to verify anauthenticity of the email message as having been originated by authorityof the financial institution; wherein the telecommunications servercomputer is configured to provide information and customer records tothe call center computers, wherein a call center operator may provideinformation to a customer, through a telephone call, that includes thecustomer's respective customer-defined data to verify an authenticity orauthority of the call center operator as being affiliated with thefinancial institution.
 2. The system of claim 1 wherein the servercomputer is also configured to provide the customer-defined data to aprinter for printing postal mailings to be provided to the customers,and wherein the customer defined data is embedded within text of theemail messages and postal mailings.
 3. The system of claim 1 wherein thecustomer-defined data includes a custom identifier field in eachcustomer record associated with the particular customer, wherein thecustom identifier field includes a text string, and either an audio fileor and image, and wherein the server computer is further configured toprovide information, including the customer-defined data modifications,to customers through a web site provided by the financial institution.4. In a client-server system, a computer-implemented security method,comprising: storing user-defined data associated with a particular userat a first time; at a second time, after the first time, creating acommunication for the particular user, including retrieving theuser-defined data, and wherein the communication includes theuser-defined data in a human perceptible manner and in an unencrypted orunscrambled manner, wherein the communication is not a web page; andproviding the communication with the user-defined data to the particularuser.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein storing user-defined dataincludes storing a custom identifier field in a customer recordassociated with the particular user, wherein the custom identifier fieldincludes a text string, audio file, or image.
 6. The method of claim 4wherein a first communication is an email message to the user andincludes user-defined image data, a second communication is a regularmail message to the user and includes user-defined text data, and athird communication is a telephonic communication to the user andincludes user-defined audio data.
 7. The method of claim 4 wherein theuser-defined data expires after a predetermined time and the user mustprovide new user-defined data.
 8. The method of claim 4 wherein thecommunication includes a coded time stamp indicating an approximate timethe communication was sent.
 9. The method of claim 4, further comprisingproviding an initial communication to the user to prompt the user toprovide the user-defined data for storage.
 10. The method of claim 4wherein the user-defined data is a text string embedded in an electronicimage file.
 11. A computer-readable medium whose contents cause at leastone computer to perform a method to provide fraud-reducingcommunications to customers, the method comprising: prompting multiplecustomers for a confidential piece of data; receiving the confidentialdata from each of the multiple customers; storing customer data recordshaving the confidential data from each of the multiple customers andassociated with respective customers, wherein the confidential data fromeach of the multiple customers includes at least one text phrase, oneelectronic image, or one audio file; initiating communications tocustomers by way of at least two different communication channels,wherein at least one of the communication channels is by postal mail orby phone calls; wherein the communication over the at least onecommunication channel includes information for the customers andincludes the respective confidential data from each of the multiplecustomers to verify an authenticity of origin for the communication, andwherein communications over the other communication channel likewiseincludes the confidential data from each of the multiple customers. 12.The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the computer-readablemedium is a database associated with a server computer.
 13. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the computer-readablemedium is a logical node in a computer network receiving the contents.14. The computer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein thecomputer-readable medium is a computer-readable disk.
 15. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the computer-readablemedium is a data transmission medium carrying a generated data signalcontaining the contents.
 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 11wherein the computer-readable medium is a memory of a computer system.17. An apparatus for providing valid communications to customers of anorganization, the apparatus comprising: means for storingcustomer-defined data associated with a particular customer at a firsttime; means for creating an outbound communication for the particularcustomer at a second time, after the first time, including retrievingthe customer-defined data, and wherein the communication includes thecustomer-defined data in a human perceptible manner and in anunencrypted or unscrambled manner; and means for providing thecommunication with the user-defined data to the particular customer,without a prior request by the particular customer, wherein thecommunication can be any one of an electronic mail message, a postalmailing, an electronic text message, or a telephone call.
 18. Theapparatus of claim 17 further comprising means for storing a customidentifier field in a customer record associated with the particularcustomer, wherein the custom identifier field includes at least two of:a text string, an audio file, and an image.
 19. The apparatus of claim17 further comprising means for providing an initial communication tothe customer to prompt the customer to provide the customer-defined datafor storage.
 20. The apparatus of claim 17 wherein the user-defined datais a text string embedded in an electronic image.
 21. Acomputer-readable medium storing a display description for permitting acomputer display device to provide personalized, secure information to auser from a financial institution, comprising: an electroniccommunication initiated by the financial institution to the user, andwithout an initial input or prompting by the user, wherein thecommunication includes: a first portion providing the user withinformation from the financial institution, and requesting informationfrom the user; and a second portion providing a custom identifier,wherein the custom identifier is a confidential text string, electronicimage, or audible file selected by the user and provided to thefinancial institution at a previous time, and that verifies anauthenticity of the communication as having been originated by authorityof the financial institution.
 22. A computer-readable medium storing adata structure for use by a computer to provide personalized, secureinformation to a client from an originating institution, the datastructure comprising: a first field of client specific information; asecond field of client specific information, wherein the second field isan electronic address for communicating with the client; at least athird field of a custom identifier, wherein the custom identifier is aconfidential text string, confidential electronic image, or confidentialaudible file selected by the client for the institution; and wherein thecomputer may at least initiate communications with the client by way ofthe electronic address of the second field, and may provide to theclient the custom identifier of the third field to verify anauthenticity of the communications as having been originated byauthority of the institution.
 23. The computer-readable medium of claim22 wherein the communications are electronic mail communications. 24.The computer-readable medium of claim 22 wherein the communications aretelephonic communications.
 25. The computer-readable medium of claim 22wherein the third field includes a client-defined text string, aclient-defined audio file, and a client-defined image.
 26. A method toprovide fraud-reducing communications to users who receive unsolicitedcommunications from an external organization, the method comprising:receiving a prompt to provide a user-defined piece of data known to orcreated by the user; electronically providing to the organization atleast an indication of the user-defined data, wherein the user-definedincludes at least one text phrase, one electronic image, or one audiofile; receiving a communication from the organization by way of at leasttwo different communication channels, wherein at least one of thecommunication channels is postal mail or telephone call; and wherein thecommunication over the at least one communication channel includesinformation for the user and includes the user-defined data to verify anauthenticity of origin for the communication from the organization, andwherein communications over the other communication channel likewiseincludes the confidential data from each of the multiple customers.